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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. spell — a short time
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. scale — in music
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. spring — a coil
  8. foot — a measure
  9. spell — letters
  10. game — a match
  11. degree — from a university
  12. spell — magic
  13. degree — an amount
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. scale — size or range
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. game — wild animals
  21. spring — the season
  22. degree — temperature
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. spring — of water

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com